X-mas in Tokyo 2009

Met up late with the peeps upstairs where the party was already in full swing:



there was plenty of food:


and friends:


and sad guitar hero action:


and yahtzee:


and rejection:


and beauty queen action:


happy christmas all :)

Free Fun with my Father

dad likes anything free, so after a sushi lunch in meguro with my dad, we decided to go to the parasite museum down the road to settle our stomachs.


dad examines the 8.8 meter long tape worm that came out of some poor soul's system:



not having had enough free fun, we went to the tokyo metropolitan government building in shinjuku for a free look at the city:




good times!

it's begining to look a lot like christmas . . .

the weird echika rabbit thing is decorated. . .


the crowds of insanity are gathering . . .


and the lights are sprouting up indoors . . .


and outdoors . . .



disinterested looking seasonal mall cops protect goofy looking trees . . .


the stations get scrubbed up . . .


the lights go up . . .





idiot japanese couples test the strength of their love on the "love barometer . . . "


at least it's pretty.

happy birthday grandpa?

if you ask him, he says he's 103. so we just go with it.


he actually turned 90.



but as long as he gets cake and is happy, we figure it's ok.

The Flat Cory Project

although i enjoy traveling, my domestic trips this year have not been without purpose. i was inspired by my friend bethy, who took a "flat laura" (<-- i think that was her name) around vegas and took pictures of her in front of various sin city landmarks. so i scrounged through my photos and came across one with a fairly clear shot of my b-i-l and cut his head out, pasted it to a paper t-shirt backed by an old popsicle stick, and took him around japan. cory loves baseball and had mentioned that one of his friends had a cool hat and that he wanted one too, so the goal became this: to snap a picture of his flat likeness in front of every professional baseball team stadium in japan and buy him a hat. there are 12 professional teams here, and 14 stadiums. it took the better part of 5-6 months to finish the project as i wanted to send it to him for his birthday.

several of you have known about the project for sometime now but i thought i'd post the pictures anyway. i can't tell you how many weird looks i got while engaging in this. If you like baseball or want to know more about it, check out bob basavi's www.japanball.com. it's where i got all my info . . .

stop #1
Yokohama Stadium
Team: Baystars
League: Central
Mascot: weird starfish looking thing


Stop #2
Meiji jingu Stadium
Team: Yakult Swallows
League: Central
Mascot: a weird little black bird (i think)


Stop #3
Tokyo Dome
Team: Yomiuri Giants
League: Central
Mascot: "a half Y & G logo, half rabbit. The odd creature goes by the name "Giabbit" (Pronounced "Jabbit")."


Stop #4
Seibu Dome
Team: Seibu Lions
League: Pacific
Mascot: Lion


Stop #5
Chiba Marine Stadium
Team: Chiba Lotte Marines
League: Central
Mascot: seagull


Stop #6
Kleenex Fullcast Miyagi Stadium
Team: Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
League: Pacific
Mascot: a pair of funny looking birds


Stop #7
Skymark Stadium
Team: Orix Buffaloes
League: Pacific
Mascot: I have no idea what they are but it looks kinda like 2 kids in uniforms but it beats the hell out of me.


Stop #8
Koshien Stadium
Team: Hanshin Tigers
League: Central
Mascot: Tiger


Stop #9
Kyocera Osaka Dome
Team: Orix Buffaloes
League: Pacific
Mascot: see the rant 2 pictures up


Stop #10
Nagoya Dome
Team: Chunichi Dragons
League: Central
Mascot: Doala (which i am convinced stands for douchey koala)


Stop #11
Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome
Team: Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
League: Pacific
Mascot: Harry the Hawk


Stop #12
Mazda Zoom Zoom Stadium
Team: Hiroshima Toyo Carp
League: Central
Mascot: depending on who you ask, a weird muppet looking thing called slyly, or a little man with green hair


Stop #13
Hiroshima Municipal Stadium
former home of the carp until earlier this year


Last Stop
Sapporo Dome
Team: Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
League: Pacific
Mascot: Bear


these are just the pictures from the stadium but i pretty much took pictures of flat cory everywhere (hawaii, in his own house in America, in front of a-bomb dome, in chinatown, all over tokyo, etc.) maybe if you ask him nice, he'll show you the book i made him.

Happy Birthday Dude!

Fall in the City

My city is a riot of colors as the autumn winds down. The Ginko trees around the city are all different shades of yellow and the street leading up to the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery is one of the most popular places to see them:




this is actually my second trip out here this week as my first attempt was thwarted by shitty weather. the day started beautiful but deteriorated by the time i got out here. this day was sunny and beautiful. great for pictures:





lunch in omotesando station at my favorite lamb place in the city:


and a nice walk up to harajuku station: